N51W

N51W is a Commander Aircraft Company 114B, a single-engine piston aircraft, likely a private operator. SkyMeter has tracked 76 flights totalling 77 hours of airtime via ADS-B. The most frequent segment is KHND to KCRQ. Service window in our records spans 71 days. Of those flights, 14 (18.4%) carry at least one detected incident: a go-around, unstable approach, stall warning, or runway excursion. The Commander Aircraft Company 114B has a maximum takeoff weight of 3,260 lb, light wake category.

About the Commander Aircraft Company 114B

The Commander 114B represents the refined evolution of Rockwell's original Commander 112 design, a four-seat single-engine retractable that emerged in the 1970s as a direct competitor to Beechcraft's Bonanza and Mooney's M20 series. After Rockwell exited general aviation, the type certificate passed through Gulfstream American and eventually to Commander Aircraft Company, which introduced the 114B variant with improved useful load, upgraded avionics provisions, and detail refinements to the original all-metal low-wing airframe. Powered by a Lycoming IO-540 producing 260 horsepower, the 114B cruises at roughly 160 knots true airspeed with a range exceeding 800 nautical miles, offering respectable cross-country performance in the owner-flown single-engine category.

What distinguishes the Commander from its peers is the spacious cabin (genuinely comfortable for four adults with baggage) and docile handling characteristics that made it popular among step-up buyers transitioning from fixed-gear singles. The type never achieved the production volumes of Cessna or Piper equivalents, and manufacturing ceased in the 1980s, making it a relatively uncommon sight on the ramp today. Most survivors serve owner-pilots and small charter operators who value the combination of speed, load-carrying ability, and straightforward systems. The 114B's operating envelope is conventional for the class: never-exceed speed of 200 knots, max structural cruise of 169 knots, and stall speeds in the high 50-knot range with full flaps.

SkyMeter has tracked flights across airframes and operators, with the largest observed operator.